The other day, we ran out of dog food. Not long ago, picking up the five-pound bag of kibble and finding it empty meant a short walk to the neighborhood pet store, where the same man flashed the same smile before shuffling off to the back room and returning with the same package, a weekly ritual that helped us make sense of both time and space. Then, the large chain store set up shop, and the local guys folded and disappeared. We still shopped for dog food once a week, but there was nothing intimate about taking the stairs to the second floor of some vast Petco and paying a parade of...Read more ...